Familiarity is a Strange Thing
by Riversmelodyy
Summary: A young woman bumps into the Doctor one day while on her way to work, but what she doesn't realise is the connection he has to her family and to her past.


The door slams shut behind me as I run out of the house. _CRAP! I'm late_. I stop short when I see the empty driveway.  
"What?" I look around me, almost expecting my car to be in a different place to where I remember parking it. "Wait, what?!" I exclaim. "WHERE'S MY CAR?"  
And then I remember.  
_David._  
He said he wanted to borrow it, and even after I said no since it was my only way to get to work, he still took it. I sigh and look down at my watch  
"Crap." I whisper under my breath, "I'll have to walk." I sling my purse over my shoulder and set off. _Goodness I sound like someone from an adventure book.I bitterly think to myself.__  
_The sun is out and it's quite a lovely calm day, but suddenly, a wind picks up and there's a loud whooshing sound from behind. I turn and there's a blue telephone box sitting on the corner. I didn't know that was there…although I do recognise it. I stare at it for a few moments trying to place it amongst my memories. _Grandma used to tell me stories when I was little_, I recall, _about a mad man in a magic box. Maybe…_ Before I finish the thought, the doors fly open and a young man falls face first on the pavement.  
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" I call out, walking quickly towards him.  
He jumps up, brushing off his tailed suit and straightening his bowtie. "Yes, yes of course! Why wouldn't I be?"  
"Because you still have gravel on your cheek."  
"Ah well, everyone needs some sort of accessory." He smiles and winks. "If you don't mind though, could you tell me where I am?" He asks, looking around. "I'm somewhat lost."  
"This is South Croydon."  
He turns his head to me, with a quizzical look on his face. "Is it indeed? I used to have a friend who lived around here." He says, softly.  
And that's when I notice how sad his eyes are. Despite the clumsiness of his body, his eyes are steady and sure of their grief.  
"She died. Sometime ago now… Actually while I'm in the area I should go visit her." He nods to himself and turns back towards the telephone box.  
"Do you live in that box?" I ask, somewhat jokingly.  
"In a way, yes, I suppose I do." I grow quite confused when I cannot detect the sarcasm in his voice, though I don't question it.  
I watch him as he pulls out a key and slides it into the lock on the door. _That's funny. It was open a few moments ago… And what's the point to a lock on a public telephone box?_He opens the door and steps inside before turning back to me.  
"What's your name?"  
I don't see any reason why I should tell this man and yet I find myself doing it anyway. "Sarah."  
He smiles sadly and all of the sudden, quite similar to what I experienced with the mysterious telephone box, he looks strangely familiar to me, like those wisps of childhood memory you can never quite grasp.  
"My friends name was Sarah. Well I called her that. We're you named after someone?"  
"Yes, my grandmother." The atmosphere has changed to one of sadness and forgotten things. I don't like it.  
I didn't think it possible but his expression grew even more sorrowful. "I suppose she'd be dead now, wouldn't she?"  
I nod.  
"Ah well, it's a lovely name, Sarah."  
And then he is gone. Disappeared into that 'magic' box. I stare at it for a long time, feeling as if something important just happened, without me knowing what. After a while I shake my head and turn. _It's just a crazy man with a blue box_.  
The loud whooshing sounds starts again and I quickly turn, but my hair gets blown into my eyes. I can't see anything until it finally dies away.  
My eye widen in obvious surprise as I see the box disappeared. _But…how - it was just_ - I glance around in confusion but the time on my watch catches my eye. "Crap!" Now I'm really going to be late. I rush off in the direction of work, putting the strange man and the magic box out of my mind.

AAfter the girl has turned her back, the Doctor puts the TARDIS into flight. No good can come from her seeing it disappear. No good ever comes from that. He sets the date on the console to 2014. She was still there then.  
"It's not possible of course, her son was an alien. Or was he…? No, no, that was someone else. Or was it?" There's no response. There never is anymore but he stills expects it. He looks around the empty ship and a strange loneliness wrap itself around his hearts. He has begun to grow tired of having only the voices in his head for company. The Doctor shakes his head to get rid of the feeling, but it doesn't go away so, as always, he just ignores it.  
The TARDIS sets down on a quiet street. He pokes his head out to check if it is the right place. It is, but it may not be the right time. The TARDIS is always getting things like that wrong.  
The Doctor walks across the street and goes to knock on the door of what he believes is Sarah Jane's house, when the sound of laughter reaches his ears. He goes along the shadowy path at the side of the house before coming out into the bright garden. Sarah Jane is there. She's much older than last he saw her, her hair now grey and the lines around her eyes deeper. But her laugh is still the same. There's a young girl at her feet of about three of four.  
"Doctor!" Sarah Jane calls out after spotting him. She stands and he goes to her, capturing her in a warm embrace.  
"Doctor, this is my granddaughter. Her name is Sarah. They named her after me, can you believe it?!" The Doctor smiles and leans down to the girl. Her cheeks are flushed from laughing and her ringlets glow gold in the sunlight. She giggles and looks up at him.  
"Hello Sarah. It's nice to finally meet you. Officially that is."


End file.
